


The Last of the Lotuses

by silenceofluna



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: F/M, Top Zhang Yi Xing | Lay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-19
Updated: 2020-09-19
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:21:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,384
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26546707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silenceofluna/pseuds/silenceofluna
Summary: {T/W: instances of bloodshed and violence.}"Shall we?" He says with a smirk on his face, and you nod with an identical smirk. The both of you smash your bodies against the doors as they open with a jolt and the intense red light almost blinds you.•This is a Yixing x Reader AU I wrote after watching the "Lit" MV. I hope you enjoy it.
Kudos: 2





	The Last of the Lotuses

You stand at the Great Entrance of Huokeng as the eerily calm night air carries a scent of fresh blood into your nose. Your white-blue ruqun is smeared in thick crimson blood. The hilt of the dagger is hot against your sweaty palms. You feel as if the polished stone is burning into your skin, transforming the weapon into a part of your anatomy. The rapid sway of the wind makes the red-black flags beyond the Entrance dance fiercely to an unknown symphony.

This is where once he stood in all his glory. The one who channels the vitality of Yang --- the day, the masculine, the Sun, the Wizard, the Wise Man and the Light. You were not here to witness him almost champion the cause of the day. You wish you had pressed harder on him to let you accompany him. If you had been with him, the operation would have ended smoothly. After all, what is Yang without his Yin?

You sigh. The time has finally arrived. You feel a choking sensation in your throat and cough with a hand on your mouth. As you pull away, you see blood. That is when you become conscious of the metallic taste in your mouth.

Oh yes, the wound at the side of your stomach!

You clutch that place and a sudden jolt makes you wince. Why didn't you feel pain this whole time? Why now out of the blue?

You pull your head up and look at the blazing moon in the sky. She has led you so far. She will lead you still. Believe in the power of Yin --- the night, the feminine, the Moon, the Witch, the Wise Woman and the Shadow.

_Come unto me,_   
_Oh goddess of the deep seas._   
_She who_ _singeth_ _at night,_   
_She who bestows the eternal light!_   
_She who is the chaste lotus,_   
_Come unto me . . ._

You take a deep breath and spread your arms wide. It is time. You feel a familiar current pulsing through your veins and the thick smell of blood is replaced by the smell of fresh jasmines. A hot sensation manifests in your womb and the dull throb on the side of your stomach fades into the warmth. Your breathe stabilises and the feeling begins to spread its roots throughout your body --- from down your womb towards your breasts, making all the way to your arms, until it rises through your throat and reaches your forehead.

You let out a roar as you feel something cut into the flesh of your temple. The mark is revealing itself. But you feel no blood rushing out. Once the warmth engulfs your body, you feel your mind relax and arms soften. The power has successfully manifested in your body. You open your eyes and they glimmer a blinding silver in the dead of the night.

You are ready. You fix the dagger inside your belt and bend down to pick up a blood-smeared sword and hold it loosely in a grip so that the sharp blade trails on the ground.

You pass the entrance as the sensation within your grows stronger. You are one of Yin, as all the other women are, and it is upon you to exact your position in a world that dares to forsake you.

The flames from the large torches at the gate of the castle dance against the wind. You know your heat is stronger than that; you know your light is clearer than that. There is a huge circular depression between you and the castle, filled with water. Lotuses float on the surface as the moonlight washes their pinkish hue in an unearthly shade. You gaze at the flowers, and you see his face clear in front of your eyes.

Yixing.

You breathe in the scent as your heart opens and a smile spreads across your lips. You wonder if you will live to see him. But you cross that thought, because you know you will. You have to. The first task is to reach the heart of the castle, where Yixing is imprisoned.

You are at the face of the inevitable and somewhere inside your womb, you know the outcome. You have bled that outcome on every cycle of yours, and now it is time it etches itself on the golden scriptures of Eternity.

You take long proud strides until you reach the great double doors of the castle. There are guards waiting behind, but not many of them are left. Beyond the doors inside the court, on his throne of bones, sits the Patriarch, the bane of humanity.

It all ends right here.

Once you reach the golden doors of the castle, you know there are guards behind it waiting to get you. That is the only way to get to the heart of the castle, and you are at the edge of rebellion. There is no other way.

You take a deep breath and with a battle cry, lung at the doors as they open under the force of your body. Your sword is in position for you to flung at your foes. As the doors open, you see numerous guards in red and black with sharp spares pointing at front. They rush at you and, you channel the warmth inside you as your body moves on its own accord. The mark on your forehead burns deep as you battle your way through the hallway. The spares cut into your skin and you feel thick flood oozing out but the sensation in you is stronger, your purpose is stronger. After what felt like a piece of forever, you jump-kick the last guard conscious as his body goes rolling back knocking him out cold.

And they said that women are mere embellishments to society.

You smirk as you make your way deep into the castle. The obsidian walls are grim against the light of the fire torches. At a distance somewhere above you, you hear the faint sound of the guzheng and percussions. That wretched hypocrite!

You gnash your teeth in rage as your body wants to trotter up to his court and rip his head off, but you know better.

What is Yin without her Yang?

You would not repeat Yixing's mistake. You would not underestimate the law of the Yin and Yang --- the incompleteness of the masculine without the feminine and vice versa --- as Yixing did. He has learned now that both must go together. The day Yixing was taken prisoner, your womb had echoed the news to you. You went into the caves of the Great Mother and sat by the pond as the moon light peeked into the densely dark cave. In dreamtime, you communicated with Yixing. He responded and requested your arrival. He had failed to see the Truth, but the vision is clear to him now. The Yin and Yang, the dark and light, the balance --- it all made sense then.

As you make your way deep into the darkness, you see a pair of big doors. You lay your palm against the cold metal and you know it leads to the heart of the castle, to Yixing. You steady your senses as you position your hand on the spot where there the lock must be on the opposite side. You channel the power building within you as you feel a surge of electric waves through your blood vessels. The heat accumulates at your palm and rushes out. You hear the lock behind the door clang open as the doors come lose. With that sound comes an alarmed noise of the guards.

The projection tires you a little but you take a deep breath and steady your sword as you push yourself into the cell. As you enter, your eyes sparkle a piercing silver and you scan the whole room. It is huge. At the centre is a big cage veiled with a dense mist and around it stand the guards with swords and spears ready to lung at you.

_Yixing_ _, you must hold on a little longer . . ._

You swing your sword and engage in battle as the guards come from all directions. They are too many. You seem to lose control for a second but you try to keep your breaths steady. The thought of your step mother crosses your mind --- how she used to train you in a secret garden the art of dagger-fighting and kung fu. She was a tough teacher, and she did her job well.

"While in an overwhelming battle," she had said with pride in her eyes, "Keep your breath and believe in your body. Calculate every move. Fight like a woman."

You feel a hard hilt-like object hit your stomach and the sword drops from your hand. You fall on the floor coughing. The cold hard ground stings against your palms and you gasp for breath. You lift your head up and see the guards with their spears pointed at you. They are cautious --- scared of the feminine. It hits you that you should not pursue more weapon battle. You are at a disadvantaged position. It is time you summon the Great Wave.

_Come unto me,_   
_She of the deep soul._   
_Come unto me,_   
_Who stands alone._   
_Come unto me,_   
_Let the fire in me breathe!_

And with that, you slam your palm onto the stone floor as a tremour travels across it making the guards tremble thoroughly and fall down cold.

You cough more and gasp for breath. You need a little rest. You need your Yang. You crawl towards the huge cage and see that the mist has subsided. You realise that this mist was a cumulation of half the souls of the guards in the room.

Poor brainwashed men!

You see Yixing leaning against the metal bars. In the dim golden light, his skin gives off a shimmering glow. His raven black hair falls over his forehead like feathers of a crow in its prime. His slender neck is drenched in sweat. How you have loved this man your whole life! You had first met him when you were a mere child of seven. You had recently been extracted from poverty and adopted into the royal family by the childless Emperor and Empress. He was the son of the General, Yixing Zhang, an exceptionally gifted child at nine. From the first time you saw him, you knew that the both of you were destined together, though the feeling had been vague initially. Both of you are destined to fulfill each other.

It was when the Holy Empire of Ri-Yue had been infiltrated into that you had realised that the journey was just beginning. In a fierce battle, your step-father, the Emperor, sacrificed his life to save his fellow men on land, but to no avail. Yixing had been given the task to lead you into safety but you had it in you to ensure your own security. You mother fought the infiltrators inside the castle, and she too died in action. Her last words to you and Yixing as her limp body lay in your arms were, "Live. Both of you. Be our salvation."

You and Yixing battled your way out and it was in that battle that you had first sensed the power of the Yin and Yang. Yixing must have as well, but his deep patriarchal upbringing might have hindered his Sight.

Now he lies in front of you in the damned cage like a mighty bird in the face of adversity. His strong jaw still holds the daunting firmness.

You wrap your fingers around the rough metal bars and channel your a wave of your power. The bars melt in your grip and a large enough hole is created.

You squeeze into the cage and crawl towards Yixing. He is in a daze. You run your fingers cross his cheek and he trembles softly as if aware of your presence. You look at him for some moments as you recall all the happy times you had with him, how the both of you fell in love, your trips to the secret garden where your mother used to train you, and other little things.

You put your right hand on your chest and the left, on his. Your hearts beat together, as they should. Closing your eyes, you call upon the Great Mother. You feel a calming aura engulf you both and a soft scent of lotuses float in the air. Yixing quivers as he slowly opens his eyes. They appear cloudy at first but soon they regain their vitality as they see you.

He smiles softly as he says, "My Yin is here."

"Yixing," You smile back at him and take his face into your palms. You touch your forehead with his, and you feel him sigh a breath of relief. The mark of Yin on your forehead stings as you feel it pour a part of its power into Yixing.

"Forgive me, Princess," his voice shakes, "I-"

"None of that matters now," you pull away and stare deep into his eyes. You see the mark of Yang on his forehead, "You and I are meant to be, and I will always be your Yin."

His eyes soften as he pulls you into a deep kiss. He gently brushes his fingers across your cheek, all the way behind your head as they sink into your hair. Your lips move in sync, like they should. How you have missed his touch! Now that the both of you are together, you feel the void in yourself fill. You sink yet deeper into the kiss and it revitalises the sensation within you. The warmth manifests stronger than ever. You feel a serpent-like slither in your chest, and the sensation extends to Yixing. You feel what he feels and surely he does too.

As you pull away, you look at him to see his features vitalised and renewed. The tired dazed look has lifted. You smiles proudly at you as you help him up. He breaks the door of the cage with one strike and the both of you get out of it. The bloody sword is still in your hand, and Yixing picks one up.

"Poor men," he sighs as he looks around at the sea of dead and unconscious guards, "They were but puppets in the hands of a wretch. I wish there had been an alternative way where they did not have to die."

You sigh. You too wish you did not have to kill them, "I hope the ones still alive will take the correct path."

"Hope," Yixing says as he offers you his hand as he swings the sword in his other hand into position, "is formidable."

You take it and march out of the room. Every instance of your lives had been meaning to lead you to this very moment. Now it does not matter if you live or die. There is a task that needs to be fulfilled, a prophesy that needs to be realised, and it is upon the two of you. Death is but the companion of life. If there is no death, there cannot be life.

_Yin and Yang, Night and Day, Shadow and Light, Death and Life._

The spiraling stairway is eerily calm and a tension hangs in the air. You steady your swords in front of you and heighten your senses to keep a track of the surroundings. The Patriarch is very cunning. There comes no hindrance till you reach the doors to the court of the villain. An oppressiveness seems to float around the place. It clouds your eye sight a little. You look at Yixing, blinking steadily, as he puts his fingers on the door and focuses. He seems to seep into a deep clairvoyance when he suddenly starts and gasps. Small bids of sweat appear on his brow.

He looks at you, "The Patriarch is trying to defile the Mighty Lotus."

So he has began. The Mighty Lotus is the holiest artifact on land. Is not this what he had been meditating to achieve all throughout his damned life? Killing and maiming, forcefully extracting souls, innumerable human sacrifices, destroying kingdoms of peace and contaminating the world with his lust and greed. He has the Lotus now, but you know that the holy artifact will resist evil force.

"How many men are there inside?" you ask. Normally, you would have been able to use your clairvoyance, but the stifling aura limits you. The air is heavy with the toxicity that comes with oppressive masculinity. Your senses will fight off the poison, but it must take its time since this is the first time you are channeling your Yin in the dark.

"There are about three wizards," Yixing says, "They are deep in the Ritual. There is no chance of them breaking out of trance anytime soon. It is only the Patriarch who will fight back."

You nod and with a deep breath, you feel your senses adjust, like they should. You manifest the energy in your womb and suck it into your breast so the mark of Yin on your forehead glimmers silver. At the same time, from the corner of your eye you see Yixing's mark of Yang emit a golden glow. Everything is falling in together.

"Shall we?" He says with a smirk on his face, and you nod with an identical smirk. The both of you smash your bodies against the doors as they open with a jolt and the intense red light almost blinds you.

In the enormous court room, at the middle upon a high alter, sits the Mighty Lotus, still a bud. Wizards in flowing red garbs surround it and chant ancient spells. A deep red light accumulates at the womb of the flower but the flame clearly resists the forceful intrusion.

And there sits the Patriarch on his throne of bones and blood with lust in his eyes. He starts as he sees the both of you at the door. The wizards are unfazed. The very sight of his face enraged you. The murderer!

"Well, well," he almost sings, "The lovers have approached their own pyre." He plays with a thick gold ring between his fingers as he licks his lips ravenously.

"You have reached your end, villain," Yixing says, "Are you ready to die?"

"Death?" A laugh escapes his chest, "As the both of you will dance in the face of adversity, my immortality will be granted to me by the Mighty Lotus, the womb of the Great Mother."

"Do not utter Her name, you filthy being," you spit as his words force in you an urge to rip his head off.

"Terrible times," he raises from his throne, "Terrible terrible times, now when I have to receive threats from a weak girl like you."

Yixing cannot take that insult to you so he lunges at the Patriarch and you follow him. The Patriarch pulls out his sword and blocks Yixing's swing. The sound of the clanking of the two metals rings through the whole court. You jump and swing your sword at his side but he quickly pushes Yixing and blocks you. You break off the joint and slide on your legs aiming for his knee. He quickly moves aside and you miss him. Yixing attacks from the other side. The struggle goes on as the Patriarch single-handedly defends against the two of you. You fall back and channel your Yin to produce an energy-burst at the tip of your palm. You throw it at him and it stifles his moves a little so Yixing manages to wound his chest. You see a soft glimmer of something wet spread across the red-black fabric of his clothes.

The Patriarch falls back and rounds his head to adjust his vision. He shoots his eyes open and you see nothing but two complete black beads.

"This is more interesting than I thought," he grins and his golden teeth flash before your eyes. He manifests a dark energy in him and soon a bloody red mist oozes out of his body and takes the form of a dragon. This is when something tugs inside your heart. The serpent-like slither inside you --- it seems to be banging at the walls of your skin to get out. You feel a similar slither entwine with it, and you turn to Yixing to see him grip his chest. In a lightning speed, you run to him and take his arm.

"It is time," you whisper and he nods as the both of you squeeze your eyes close and the marks on your temples begin to feel hotter than ever. You feel the small slither expand through your chest and travel out of your body as immense surges of energy pulse through you.

All of this happens within a split second and when you open your eyes, your vision is clearer and head, lighter. The hitherto dark room has lit up in a silver-golden light as two mighty dragons tower over you and Yixing. You cannot believe this for a moment. That enormously beautiful silver dragon is the manifestation of your soul? Her eyes are a dense black, but unlike the Patriarch's, it is soothing and more welcoming. Yixing's dragon is of the colour of solidified magma, with a golden glow emitting out of his body. His eyes are silvery just like your dragon's skin.

"Seize them!" The Patriarch directs his dragon as it slithers its way towards you and Yixing. At the same time, your dragons lung at it and there begins a mighty battle in midair. The red dragon is persistent, but the silver and the black ones seem to overpower him.

Below, the three of you engage in a sword fight. By this time, you have been heavily bruised and so is Yixing and the Patriarch. But the latter seems to lose his vitality as he stumbles and loses balance. Yixing has the upper-hand now. He pushes the hilt of his sword into the Patriarch's stomach as he falls to the ground coughing. You see that darkness in his eyes contract and expand as he struggles to sustain his energy.

With a loud roar, your dragons overpower the red dragon and it collapses into thin dust. The Patriarch lifts his head, a grin still playing on his lips.

"You can never defeat me," he says, "You can kill me, but I will come again. Death is nothing to me."

You walk towards him and clutch his hair into your fist as you jolt his head up, "If that is so, life is nothing to you either. Die!"

You lift your sword to push it into his throat but he utters feebly, "W-wait . . ."

He stop and turn to look at Yixing. He has a similar inquisitive look on his face.

"Kill me," the Patriarch gasps, "In fact, it makes no difference. If I die, so will you."

"What are you talking about?" Yixing grabs his collar and you let go his hair.

"When I extracted the lotus," he explains, "I cut out the Cord of Life so only the seed remains. If I do not devour the seed and assume my immortality, it will get sucked into the air and the world will turn into ashes. You are doomed both ways. Only a true Yin-Yang can restore the Cord. The price is twin souls."

I and Yixing look at each other.

"In other words," he coughs as blood gushes out of his mouth, "You and your Yang will have to offer your souls to the Lotus. You die. Do you have the courage to die for something you believe in? There will be no rebirth, and as the Cord springs to life, everything will begin anew. The both of you will be sucked into oblivion."

You feel a sting in your heart. Is this your destiny? So be it. The immense destruction and the unspeakable horror needs to be fought against. You see the Patriarch's body relax as he dies. Yixing lets his collar go and his body sinks to the ground. You turn to the Lotus and see the wizards already on the floor, their bodies thin and limp from channeling all their vitality.

"Yin," Yixing says as he comes and stands in front of you.

"Yes," you turn to look up at him and stare deep into his eyes, "We can."

A soft smile spreads cross his lips as he drops his sword and takes your face in his hands.

"Every moment of our lives has led to this," he whispers as you see his eyes moisten, "I just wish we had more time."

You feel a sob rise up your throat and grip his arms tight as tears stream down your eyes, "Perhaps in oblivion, we will have all the time in the world."

A small laugh escapes his lips as he bites his lip and blinks to keep the tears from falling, "Is that possible, my Yin?"

"How do we know until we try?"

With that, he smashes his lips against yours and embraces you tightly. You slide your arms around his neck and raise on your toes to sink deep into the kiss. With him in your arms, you experience all the goodness of forever, the rhythmic rise and fall of waves at sea, the patience of deep earth, the silence of the night, the enthusiasm of the day, and what not? Aren't _forever_ and _oblivion_ two sides of the same coin?

You know that this is how it should have been.

You pull away and place a small kiss against his wet cheek. You pulls you close to him as the two of you walk towards the alter of the Mighty Lotus. It has blossomed a little, but the red light at the bottom of it is fading as the golden metallic petals begin to rust. You have to hurry.

The both of you bow down to it and chant prayers to the Great Mother informing her your intention. You feel something warm and welcoming hovering over your heads and you know that it is the shadow of the Mother Herself. She is blessing you.

As the both of you rise up, you pull out the dagger that has been in your belt the whole time. You pull its sheath, and then roll the polished hilt and unveil a second blade. It is a two-edged dagger.

"Once all of this is over, the balance will return," Yixing says as he gazed softly at you, "But damn, I will miss looking at your face, your sleepy eyes, your clumsy confused look, literally everything about you. I already miss you, Yin."

You laugh and take his hand and wrap it around your grip on the dagger. The warmth of his hand calms you.

"What makes you think that oblivion is so bad a place?" You poke his cheek with a finger of your other hand, "Don't believe all the stories we have been told, you dummy!"

He chuckles, "True. Remember how they said that women cannot fight? What an utter bullcrap!"

The both of you burst out laughing. The Lotus shimmers a little at the happy energy and you regain your sense of time and circumstance.

You sigh and you get closer to him with a little gap between the both of you so that the tips of the dagger touch your chests.

"We will see each other again," Yixing says and you reply, "Yes, we will."

You squeeze your bodies against each other as the dagger penetrates inside your chests. You feel a sharp pain and feel all the energy drain out of you. The both of you fall on your sides limp on the floor. Your trembling hand grips his cloth as his tired arms pull you closer to him, and before you know it, everything goes pitch black.

°

_As the lovers sacrifice their lives, their souls rise from their earthly statures and mingle into one ball of translucent energy. The Mighty Lotus absorbs the pure manifestation and its petals are revitalised. It spreads its roots through the castle and grows until it engulfs the whole world. Finally, it blooms into the active womb of the Great Mother, ready to birth a new world where the balance between good and evil is established, for there cannot exist good without bad, as there cannot exist light without shadow. The Dawn Bringers often dream of two lovers in a secret garden strolling the path of life, and with every step of theirs, blooms lotuses on the pond at the middle of the garden._

°

You walk hand in hand by the lotus pond with Yixing as he softly sings a song that had been your favourite when you were a child. The both of you are in the secret garden where your step mother, the Empress, used to train you. The grass is soft under your bare feet as the glorious rays of the sun illuminate the place into a heaven of calmness. You listen to his beautiful voice as it syncs with the rustling winds. The birds seem to tune in with him. You turn your head and look at the soft concentric circles on the clear water that appear and disappear with every breath of air. Little dragonflies play amongst themselves.

As he finishes the song, you smile and cling to his arm and raise on your toes to plant a small kiss on his cheek. You see him blush in the bright light of the day.

"Let's sit here," you say as you tug at his sleeve and he teases, "Ay, milady!"

The both of you settle down near the pond and he lays down on his back so that his head is on your lap. You softly caress his cheeks and forehead. You love it when his thick black hair falls on his face. He is the most beautiful man in the world to you, and you, the most beautiful woman to him.

The secret garden is so familiar to the both of you. Every time you walk here, it feels like you have been sucked into the past when you and Yixing were little children. The memory that especially crosses your mind is how when you had been defeated in a practice duel with Yixing and injured your knee, he had ran towards the jasmine tree and picked a freshly fallen flower and brought it to you. You still remember his face --- the concerned look, the urge to make you cheer up. Your sight was blurry with tears and he had wiped it and tucked the flower behind your ear.

But now there is something a little different about this garden. Something very familiar yet so new. Not distant. Never. How can this little place be distant to you? This is your child, your adolescence and your refuge. This is the place where there is no place for pain because it is a place that is meant for you and Yixing. Only the two of you. For Yin and Yang.

"Oblivion is beautiful," you say as you look down at him. He gazes softly at you and you feel your face heat up, "What?"

"Nothing," he says as he smiles, "Just listening to the most beautiful woman on Ea- I mean, in the universe talk about oblivion. Can't say _Earth_ anymore, can we?"

True. No one ever said that oblivion would be so warm. Perhaps people confuse forever with oblivion. Perhaps both of them exist in a single form --- some call it forever, some call it oblivion. Humans talk boldly of the things they don't know and have no chance of knowing. Maybe that is why they are so sure of what they say. They can never be disproved. But you and Yixing are witness to the Beyond, and you have left behind the earthly nomenclature of things. Here, in the tranquility of Eternity, no mundaneness binds you.

Here, you are Yin and Yixing is Yang. Here, you and your Yang are one in heart and in soul. Nothing matters anymore. Only happy days ahead.

You mull that thought over and bend down to kiss your Yang and he kisses his loving Yin back.

_**The End.** _


End file.
